Alabama Shakes: Hang Loose and Hold On

According to their SXSWwriteup, Alabama Shakes began in a high school psychology class.

Brittany Howard, the lead singer, had been playing the guitar for a while and approached a classmate about starting a band. “I just knew that he played bass and that he wore shirts with cool bands on them that nobody had heard of,” says Howard.

They used to be called Shakes, but they changed their name to Alabama Shakes.

All the tracks from their album Boys & Girls is available for free download from Freegal.

One YouTube wag calls them what would happen if you crossed Creedence Clearwater Revival and Kings of Leon.

I love Howard as a vocalist. It’s nice to see a woman fronting a band with this much soul.

 “Hang Loose” and “Hold On” are my favorite tracks.